this investigation dealt with the problem student actors confront in making a transition from educational to professional theater due to inadequate or insufficient training. A mail survey was conducted with 110 Equity stock theaters to determine whether or not those theaters serve an internship function to offer additional training and assist the beginning actor in his transition period. The introduction considers professional attitudes toward educational theater and the subsequent need for internship. The second and third chapters discuss the construction of the mailed questionnaires and the more significant responses. The last chapter concludes from the 57.3 per cent response that Equity stock theaters constitute an important but limited source for the student actor to learn and practice the arts of the theater.

This dissertation, submitted in article format, explores how the physical movement theories of Anne Bogart's Viewpoints may lead to a liberatory setting, one which echoes the theories of Paolo Freire, for college theatre students. It examines whether Viewpoints is effective in creating a studio classroom culture and whether the Viewpoints exercises can lead to a heightened clarity in individual performance, with a much more satisfying and involved learning experience for students of the theatrical arts. In addition, this dissertation applies the theory of Mead's symbolic interactionism to the discoveries that students make while using Viewpoints exercises. Research methods include autoethnography, analysis of case studies, and examination of interview data from three college directors and thirteen student actors who have trained and used Viewpoints in rehearsal.